The structure and operation of several diverse types of catalog systems are well documented in the patent literature and in the marketing and more particularly in the direct marketing arts literature. One seeking a description of representative types of catalog systems and equipment should see: Prodigy System Manual; U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,341 entitled "Remote Query Communications System"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,504 entitled "Electronic Document Approval System"; and U.S.. Pat. No. 5,315,508 entitled "Label Generating and Data Tracking System for Processing Orders"; or U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,849 entitled "Digital Interactive Communication System."
Merchandising a wide variety of products and services by printed catalogs mailed to large numbers of prospective customers is a very large and rapidly expanding commercial market in essentially every industrialized country in the world. For example, a 1991 study by the Canadian Direct Marketing Association reports that in the U.S. there were 8 to 10,000 mail order companies which generate more than $51.5 billion dollars in annual revenue. The 1991 study further reported that more than 55% of American adults had purchased goods or services from a catalog during the preceding year and approximately 26% of the Canadian adults had also purchased such services from a catalog company. Based on the respective U.S. and Canadian populations, the growth potential in each country for the catalog mail order business is substantial.
A recent article in the July 1994 issue of Popular Science magazine reports several U.S. companies are taking tentative steps to replace or supplement printed catalog materials with an electronic or computerized catalog. For example, a number of U.S. companies are reported to be test marketing a CD-Rom disc which includes digital catalog data for a number of popular U.S. retailers' catalogs. Onscreen catalog displays are beginning to appear in retail stores as an electronic variation of the free-standing catalog kiosk or catalog department. Other retailers are experimenting with floppy disc versions of catalogs which would permit potential users to browse electronic catalog data on their PC computers.
The principal disadvantages of these earlier mail order or electronic catalog systems includes limitations on how, when and where the electronic catalog data can be viewed by a potential customer. Further, these earlier systems generally require a separate or multi-step ordering process which are often cumbersome and time comsuming. Further, interactive cable TV type systems often require each subscriber to use a dedicated channel for viewing video product information without the ability of the potential customer to select specific type products or services individually.